Behaviour of shear connectors for sustainable construction under static loading

The purpose of this study is to identify structurally efficient and practical post-installed shear connectors for composite structures designed with a focus on sustainability. According to the Australian 2010 Infrastructure Report Card, a large number of Australian infrastructures are reaching the end of their design life. Therefore, there is a need for repair and strengthening of deteriorated, damaged and substandard infrastructures. The use of post-installed shear connectors to develop composite action in lieu of conventional headed shear studs and in strengthening and retrofitting of existing composite structures can be a structurally efficient and cost-effective approach. While composite beams that are retrofitted with post-installed shear connectors are potentially sustainable and recyclable elements, research contributions on these types of beams are very limited. In this paper a three-dimensional finite element model is developed to investigate the structural performance of a steel-concrete composite beam with post installed shear connectors and the factors that influence static strength of these types of connectors. The accuracy of the 3-D finite element model proposed in this work is validated by comparison with available experimental results.